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And She Could Be Next

In a polarized America, where the dual forces of white supremacy and patriarchy threaten to further erode our democracy, women of color are claiming power by running for political office. And She Could Be Next, made by a team of women filmmakers of color, asks whether democracy itself can be preserved—and made stronger—by those most marginalized.

While pundits obsess over the daily twists of an unraveling democracy, a game-changing transformation is happening at the grassroots. In the 2018 midterm elections, the decisive force may be Americans inspired to vote for the first time.

Many of these voters come from communities of color—often poor, and largely immigrant—ignored by politicians and journalists alike. But a defiant group of women who call these districts home are speaking directly to the issues that engage them, rousing the power of the New American majority.

Filmed between March and November 2018, the film embeds inside five candidates’ stories as they interact with voters, conduct embattled campaigns, and balance work and personal lives. These women of color keep pulling off stunning wins against significant odds, and in the process, are re-shaping the political power infrastructure. Women like:

• Georgia’s Stacey Abrams, potentially America’s first black woman Governor.
• Detroit’s Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian-American who will be the first Muslim woman in Congress.
• Atlanta’s Lucy McBath, a fearless gun control advocate who lost her son in a racially motivated killing.
• Albuquerque’s Deb Haaland, likely to be the first Native American woman in Congress.
• El Paso’s Veronica Escobar, a border-rights activist running for Congress, as migrant families are separated in her district.

Conflicts abound. Stacey Abrams must confront her Trump-endorsed opponent, who, as state elections overseer, purged 600,000 voters from the rolls. Rashida Tlaib juggles being a single mom, a full-time candidate, and fields attacks by Islamophobes and extremist Palestinians alike. Deb Haaland battles big oil and gas while fighting to protect Native lands. As historic “firsts,” they all shoulder the staggering responsibility of representation. But by stepping up to lead, they inspire every American to participate in the contact sport of true democracy, one voter at a time. As the November election results roll in, our cameras will be on hand to witness these dramatic journeys culminate, ushering in a new chapter in American politics.

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A work-in-progress screening of filmmaker Judith Helfand's personal film, 'Love & Stuff' - Seven months after helping her terminally ill mother die in home-hospice, becomes a “new old” single mother at 50. Overnight, she’s pushed to deal with her “stuff”: 63 boxes of her parents’ heirlooms overwhelming her office-turned-future-baby’s room, the weight her mother had begged her to lose, and the reality of being a half-century older than her daughter.